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.308 rifle what to buy????


mike82

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Good morning,

 

This is my first post so please be gentle.

I have recently put in for a .308 on variation and I have been trying to decide what rifle to buy when it finally arrives? I really like the AI AT however I don't like the price :unsure:

I then started to look at other rifles, Sako TRG-22, CZ750, Mauser M12 extreme, Steyr SSG69 P2 and lately onto the Tikka T3 Sporter.

I like the appearance of the T3 Sporter with a 24" threaded barrel, what are these like?

I have set myself a £3000-4000 budget (for new stuff) and that was to include Mod, Bi-pod, hardcase, Scope and decent Mounts.

Have I over looked anything? or does anyone have any alternative suggestions?

 

Thanks,

Mike

 

 

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What will the rifle be used for?

 

 

Shooting, we expect. Occasional drooling over too.

 

We'd recommend two rifles, ooman, First of all, get your self a cheap Mosin Nagant and a crate of canned bangs. You should get a rifle for about £250 and the ammunition is about £25 / 100 so you can afford to get 500 canned bangs. Next, spend a few hours at the range releasing the canned bangs into the wild. You will find that the Noise Magnet is reasonably accurate and your shooting will improve tremendously. You'll discover what you do and don't like about shooting, and what disciplines appeal to you most. From your budget you'll still have around £3,000 to spend and plenty of experience as to what best suits your needs. That budget will buy you a great T3 and a pretty decent scope - we'd recommend something mid range like a Meopta and use the remaining cash to stock up on ammo.

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I'd keep an eye on the classifieds on here and other forums , bargains to be had !

Great advice - there are some amazing bargains to be had on this forum.

 

I can't believe the number of shooters who spec a high-end custom rifle then sell the lot for half of what they paid with "Only 200 rounds fired."

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The group on my Avatar was shot with my son's Tikka T3 sporter abeit a 20" .223 with 1:8 twist. This is very fine rifle indeed and coupled with the right combination of scope and mounts will serve you very well.

 

I'd certainly advise getting the 24" barrelled version if you can, but these tend to be pretty thin on the ground. Don't be put off by the 20" barrelled version however, my 20" .308 T3 Super Varmint shoots very well indeed, however I've re-stocked it into a KRG X-Ray chassis.

 

I do know of at least one .308 24" T3 Sporter on the market - see here, there may be others if you dig deep enough - good luck!

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Scope is perhaps your easiest choice-Night Force if budget alllows,used Night Force if it doesn't.

 

The Sightron 8-32 is a great alternative.

Used NF BR-well under £1000,as is a new Sightron.

 

The NF 8-42 BR has it all-superb track record (and superb tracking!) in Long Range competition-choose fine reticule-you need all the mag you can get at 1000y and precision-cross hair dead centre,not obscuring a couple of inches. The BR is fine,NXS gives side focus,but you won't really need that in competitions where range is known,and does not need fast readjust.Upgrade -well that might be a March,at serious money,and it's still a 'maybe'.

S&B are superior as tactial etc,not as target.NF isn't a low light stalker-it's about the best Target scope realistically available.

 

Mounts-depends a bit on rifle.Sako Tikka optilocks are good for those rifles-you don't nee £200 mounts but get good ones-no weak links.

I'd advise trying a good few 308 rifles from your list if you can-assuming you are confirmed that 308 is your best choice-it's a copetent all round cartridge for sure-best?-probably not,but very versatile-and if that is important,fine.Focus always on just what you need/want-I had 5 308s,liked them all but with experience,not all were optimum,especially for serious 1000y (hot 7mm) or 600y(6BR) but they didn't all cost £3000,either!)and any one would have been a fine all rounder.Take your time to decide.

 

gbal

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The default advice for a first .308 for target shooting used to be a heavy barrelled Remington 700 or a Tikka T3 and then progressively upgrade them. These will both produce nice rifles. Been there, done that, but I wouldn't recommend it these days as there are better options available which are more cost effective.

 

The 'smart choice' as others have already said, is to pick up something secondhand off the classifieds here. You've often let someone else pay for the upgrades and these can be very good deals. A lot of these though will have sub 26 inch barrels. These are great, but will be less competitive at longer ranges due to the bullets going transonic past 800-900 yards.

 

If you want new, a couple of good choices would be the Savage 12 FTR at about £1300, or a lot nicer, the Dolphin FTR at £2500. Both of these have the desirable 30 inch barrels for longer range use and are capable of being competitive at the highest levels of FTR.

 

Can't fault the advice of Sightron or SH Nightforce for scopes. Though my personal preference is for FFP Schmidt and Bender. You will also need to factor in for a good rest or bipod and rear bag.

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If you're looking for a genuinely competitive outfit, Adam Bagnall is selling his RPA based FTR rifle for £1,500 on the GB F-Class Association website. Not the most beautiful piece, but one with a pedigree of winning FTR matches at 1,000 yards at national level.

 

http://www.gbfclass.co.uk/index.php/sales

 

Add a scope, bi-pod and rear bag and you're ready to go. This will be right up on the weight limit - a Nightforce scope would likely make it difficult to stay within the 8.25kg all-up weight ceiling, The Sightron Series 3 8-32s are a lot lighter.

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Mike,lots of good advice- a fair bit depends on what you want to do-if 'compete',then weight limits are critical.If enjoy informally,almost anything goes.308 is only competitive,at best, in classes that restrict you to 308.There is plenty of choice,and a good used rig is often a good choice,that can be upgraded-if need be,or rebarreled to be more competitive/ satisfying.All at some cost,of course,but has some flexibility,and lower initial outlay.

Basically,decide-no rush- just what job you want to do,then select the tool.Factor in 'competitive level', if any,as that may take you into up market reloading and bullets.Except at the highest level,there is reasonabe room for compromise-eg,as others have said,on barrel length.

gbal

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Thank you for the advice, however I was hoping to stick with a new rifle, as I would know the history and have a warranty.

I'm not looking to get competitive (yet) and would only want it for club nights and the very occasional visit to Diggle or Bisley.

Wanted a .308 as it is fairly off the shelf round, versatile for reloading and plenty of options for “factory” rifles (hence the dilemma too many choices).

Scope wise I have had my heart set on a Swarovski Z6 (non-IR) 5-30x50 with Ballistic Turret.with Spuhr Mounts.

 

Mike

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Thank you for the advice, however I was hoping to stick with a new rifle, as I would know the history and have a warranty.

I'm not looking to get competitive (yet) and would only want it for club nights and the very occasional visit to Diggle or Bisley.

Wanted a .308 as it is fairly off the shelf round, versatile for reloading and plenty of options for “factory” rifles (hence the dilemma too many choices).

Scope wise I have had my heart set on a Swarovski Z6 (non-IR) 5-30x50 with Ballistic Turret.with Spuhr Mounts.

 

Mike

take advice from people who shoot FTR as regards build because you say you are not looking to get competitive yet but you will end up going that way once you have tried it and then if you have bought the wrong rifle build for the job you will have to loose money on that build to get shut and build a full blown FTR rig
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The answer to this question is hugely dependent on what sort of target shooting the OP is wanting to do. The rifles mentioned would make nice McQueens rifles but wouldn't cut the mustard as an FTR gat.

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If you want a do it all .308, sort out your priorities and cry once. Buy the AI AT its by far the best value of all the rifles you,ve mentioned. Its SO much more gun than its price tag....it makes the AX look positively sick. My mate has just bought one for a little over £3000.

 

You don't mention what you want to shoot, but believe me...there is a much bigger target shooting world than FTR.

 

A magazine fed rifle will enable you to compete in ANY discipline at either Bisley, Diggle, or anywhere else.

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Got to say I aggree with Dave the AT will be the most versatile of those mentioned and also being a top factory rifle they do hold there value better than a custom gun if you came to sell it down the line

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For the uninformed amongst us, what is it about the AI AT that makes it such good value for the money ? We know AI rifles are good, but what is it that makes the AT so special ?

I'm saving up to replace my Remington 700 with an AI AT. For me, it's the combination of amazing accuracy, excellent quality, ultimate hell and back reliability and the flexibility of the switch barrel capability. I'm putting in a variation for spare barrels in 6mm, 6.5mm and 0.22-250, which should cover an awful lot of bases.

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I'm saving up to replace my Remington 700 with an AI AT. For me, it's the combination of amazing accuracy, excellent quality, ultimate hell and back reliability and the flexibility of the switch barrel capability. I'm putting in a variation for spare barrels in 6mm, 6.5mm and 0.22-250, which should cover an awful lot of bases.

 

But isn't that also the case with the AX too ?

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